Photos: New Kind of Health Care Reform Brings Five-Star Hospitality to Hospital Care

HACKENSACK, N.J., May 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Well-being is about more than just a clean bill of health. Health, like beauty, comes from the inside out, but can also have an impact from the outside in. Recognizing that looking and feeling good are valuable steps toward helping patients through their healing process, medical care facilities have started a new movement that involves a holistic approach to patient care. In nurturing the patient's total well-being, these institutions and individuals focus on the principle that patients need as much personal consideration as their diseases warrant medical attention.

To view the Multimedia News Release, go to:

http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/humc/33003/

It's safe to say that qualified doctors, skilled nurses, modern medical techniques and technologies should be expected at any high quality medical center. But that's not enough anymore. Recognizing that individuals are more than illnesses and medical procedures, the healthcare industry is now incorporating eastern healing practices, even a purely pampering approach, to better help patients improve their well-being.

Even fashion designers have forayed into the healthcare arena -- Nicole Miller designed hospital gowns for Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC) in New Jersey, and Donna Karan, through her Urban Zen Foundation, has helped raise awareness for the need to change the current healthcare paradigm to include integrative medicine and promote patient advocacy.

Another example of the holistic approach to healthcare is the emphasis on both appearance and fine dining (no more hospital food jokes!) because how you look and how you feel are inevitably linked. At HUMC, catering to patients' individual needs involves actual catering... of the five-star kind! Round-the-clock room service is available, featuring organic, low-carbohydrate and kosher meals, all created by top chef, Franz Klampfer (formerly of the Four Seasons).

Pampering and primping also take a greater role in one's overall comfort, and the Beyond Day Spa, a luxurious spa that is recognized as one of the top 10 best medical spas in the world (Luxury SpaFinder Magazine), is on-site at HUMC. Services range from purifying facials and the latest in safe tanning to procedures typically found solely in a dermatologist or plastic surgeon's office. Special spa services are also available for patients in HUMC's award-winning Cancer Center, and the new Sarkis and Siran Gabrellian Women's and Children's Pavilion offers children a play areas and a meditation room.

For additional information, please contact Lauren Rodolitz at Behrman Communications: 212-986-7000

SOURCE Hackensack University Medical Center